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| James Lesson #67 Ok � things are really tough � and every one around you is living on easy street. Nothing is fair AT ALL � and James says � �Be patient.� What�s up with that? Read James 5:7 Why should they be �patient?� If you haven�t marked that word, mark it. James is pointing out that God�s very aware of what�s going on and tells them to hold on and be patient. Why? Here�s a thought. Imagine spring- garden planting time. You head out the door � plow up a little ground, add a little fertilizer, and toss a little corn seed on the ground. You hook up the sprinkler and hit it with a little water and call it a day. You get up the next morning and send one of the kids out to pick some corn. They come back into the house thinking you�re a nutcase, right? You turn around and say, �Get back out there an pick me an entire bushel because the price at market is great and I want to get when the getting is good!� They walk back out into the yard, take a look at this freshly plowed garden and think, �Mom�s flipped out!� Why? Because anybody knows that it takes TIME to grow corn. Mom has to wait. James uses the farmer as an illustration to point to the harvest. James has been pointing to the harvest from the beginning of his letter. He�s showing what the ungodly rich will have as their harvest. He�s showing that the Lord of the �harvest� has been listening � watching- paying attention to your cries. READ James 5:8 - �you to� who? You to � like the farmer- �be patient!� Here he mentions the coming of the Lord again. He is pointing them to the end of time because it�s at the end of time that the reward comes. James has been calling men to a �righteous lifestyle.� READ James 5:19-20 This whole letter is showing you what the path of righteousness is like and how to recognize when you�ve fallen off of it and how to get back on it. Because, at the end of the path there is a reward. At the end of the path will be judgment or eternal life. While he�s pointing this �end result� out to them, he tells them how they are to live. James 5:8-11 James kicks in with some very strong orders � the �how to�s� of �be patient.� In verse 8 he says, �Strengthen your hearts.� When you�re out there in the field don�t complain about the rich man that�s over you or anything else�just don�t..complain. (That�s a tough one when you�re really not happy about the position you�re in � especially when someone else has it pretty good and you don�t) He�s reminding them that they are living in the last days. What�s with that? The �last days?� If you�d draw a time line from creation up to the cross you�d fill in about 4000 years that have been accounted for. Since the cross, we�ve been living about 2000 years. James is saying, �He�s at the door. He�s coming. Be ready.� When Jesus Christ left the earth He ascended from the Mt of Olives. When Jesus went up into heaven, the angels said, (Acts 1) ��You men of Galilee, why do you stand, gazing up into heaven. This same Jesus will come again in like manner.� When you flip over to Zechariah 14 you�ll see that it says that He�s going to return on the Mt. of Olives. That�s where He left- That�s where He�ll return. He�s coming again. The first time Jesus came He came as the �suffering Savior.� He came as the �Lamb of God,� who came to take away the sins of the world. He came to rescue. Why? Because everyone who commits sin is a �slave� of sin. Man by nature, walks in independence from God. He begins sinning in many areas- lying, murder, homosexuality, immorality, stealing and the list goes on. As he commits that same sin over and over again he is bound tighter and tighter and tighter so that he is a slave to sin. There is only one thing that can set him free. God. The book of John says that �If the Son will set them free, they will be free indeed.� It says that Jesus, who knew no sin, was �made sin� for you and me. What? Yeah � He was sinless, but for me, He became a liar, a homosexual, an alcoholic, a murderer, a thief..and the list continues. Jesus, �became� sin. He came as the �suffering� Savior � which means, not only did He �become� sin � He already went through all the pain on my behalf as well. If I�m carrying the hurt � I�m owning something that�s His. He became the total substitute..for me. When He died, it was sufficient for God. Every sin you ever committed � if Jesus is in control of your life is �covered� by the blood of Jesus. Which means � when God looks at you and you say � �yeah..but I did this..or I did that..� His response is? What this and what that? It�s not that He �overlooks� your sin � it�s that, all He sees when He looks at you is �the blood of Jesus.� THAT, is what �pardons� you. Jesus died � and because His death was a �sufficient� payment in God�s eyes � God�s power raised Him from the dead and gave to Him the authority that was stolen from Adam by Satan. Jesus left to be with God the Father. He will come again in the same way He left and will set up His kingdom. He�ll rule over this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That�s what the Jews were looking for � that�s why they missed Him as their �suffering Savior.� He is coming again. When He comes the second time He will judge all the nations. At the end of reigning for 1000 years, fire will come down out of heaven and destroy the present heaven and the present earth. Following that will be the great �white throne judgment.� All those in hell will be brought before Him and judged. What will they be judged for? They refused to acknowledge God as God. In Romans 1:18-32 it says, �When men knew God they glorified Him not as God. They became vain in their imaginations. Their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They changed the glory of an incorruptible God into an image made like man � four footed creatures, creeping crawling things � so God gave them over to immorality�to impurity�where they defiled their own bodies. He gave them over to homosexuality and lesbianism � where men and women left their natural desires and craved for each other. We think of God as a God of love and He is. He so loved the world that He GAVE His what? � ONLY begotten Son. He loved us when we were enemies � ungodly � unholy � sinners. That love will not allow me to continue in my sin. It rescues me from sin. It rescues me from that kind of a life. James is showing that if I have true faith I will live according to the principles and precepts of God�s Word. Then, He points out that God doesn�t stop with an �I love you.� He has made provision for every person on the face of this earth. If anyone anywhere cries out, �God I want to know You,� - God would move half of heaven and earth to get to them and tell them that He�s sent His Son so that they can. This God of love is also a God of wrath. He�s a judge. He�s pointing ahead saying- �There is a day coming � a day of reckoning.� For all of eternity we will exist- that�s a long long time- we�ll exist in heaven with God � or we�ll exist in hell � being cast into a lake of fire to cry out forever..�Why didn�t I believe?� James is saying, �Hey rich guy-you live as though there is no God � as though �this� is it- as though there�s no life after death. You�ve suppressed other men made in My image. The judge is at the door. Now remember, He�s talking to people living on this side of Calvary-people living under the �New� covenant. He�s saying � �Look � no matter what happens to you during this time, remember, you�re in the final stretch of the race. �Strengthen your heart! Be patient!� FOCUS! He opens this letter with suffering and in chapter 5:10 he closes with suffering. He�s saying � �REMEMBER� � there were many before you who suffered as well. You�re not the �only� one out there, and you�re not alone in your circumstance. READ verse 11. It�s not how you �start the race� � it�s how you finish. There are many who �start� the race � but before they ever learn to get up on their feet and begin to walk, they give up and walk away. Hebrews says �hold fast� to your confession of hope. In I John 2:19 he�s pointing out that if you are really truly born again, there�s a "continuance� of the �profession of faith.� I want to spend some time tomorrow looking at the �hanging on for dear life� � the battle � the final stretch � and the reward. Until then, �strengthen your heart� � and �hold on.� There�s a lot more to the picture than the track you�re running on. Don�t get weary in well doing � in due season you�ll reap� If you don�t faint. Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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